Portable secretary for travelers.



No. 676,539. Patented Juna' I8, I90.

F. W. HALL. PORTABLE SECRETARY FOR TRAVELERS.

(Application filed July 23, 1900.)

2 Shee ts-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

56mm; 19M

rm: sum: ncrza; w. mow-mac" wunmammp. c.

No. 676,539.' Patented Ju ne l8, 19m.

F. W. HALL. PORTABLE SECRETARY FDR TRAVELERS. (Application filed m 28, 1900. (No Model.) 2 Sheets Sheet 2.

II/III/III/III/IIII/ Tm: norms PETERS ca. mama-urns wnsmnuwy. a. c.

Units TATES FRANK \V. HALL, OF DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA.

PORTABLE SECRETARY FOR TRAVELERS.

SPECIFECA'IION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,539, dated June 18, 1901.

Application filed July 23, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, FRANK \V. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dahlon ega, in the county of Lumpkin and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Portable Secretary for Travelers, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in portable secretaries for travelers.

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction of portable secretaries and to provide a simple, inexpensive,

and efficient one designed for tourists, traveling business men, and the like and adapted to be compactly arranged for shipping and capable of forming a convenient desk and of serving as a receptacle for a type-writer, letter-press, stationery, and analogous material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable secretary of this character which may be readily set up and used anywhere and to enable the same to contain a suitable folding table and chairs or stools, so that such supports may be used when other supporting devices cannot be obtained.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable secretary constructed in accordance with this invention and shown open and arranged upon a folding table. Fig.

2 is a vertical sectional view of the same, the table being folded and arranged within the secretary. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing another form of the invention.

- Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a portable secretary compri ing a rectangularbody portion 2,ahinged lid 3, and a hinged front 4:, designed to be let down to a horizontal position, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, to form a desk, and it is supported in such position by braces 5, consisting of hinged sections or members and adapted to fold within suitable openings 6 of the body portion of the secretary when the hinged front is closed. The desk 4 is adapted to be used for all the tening Serial No. 24,622. (No modelJ purposes to which an ordinary desk may be put, and it affords a convenient support'for a type-writer 7 and a letter-press S. The body portion of the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, is designed to be provided with drawers, pigeonholes, file-boxes, compartments, and various other spaces to receive stationery and other material and to accommodate the letter-press and type-writer and to permit papers and other documents to be filed away, and these receptacles and compartments may be constructed and arranged in any desired manner to adapt the secretary to the uses for which it is intended to be applied.

The front,which r is provided with suitable fastening devices for securing it in its closed position, is connected with the bottom of the body portion 2 by suitable hinges 9, and the fastening devices 10 for holding the front in its closed position may be mounted on the lid or any other part.

The body portion 2 is provided at its top with a box or receptacle 11, having a cover 12,which is received within the lower portion of the lidwhen the latter is closed, and the said lid is provided with a hinged door or partition 13, forming a compartment let for the reception of a folding table 16 and one or more camp-stools 17. The portable secretary is designed to be placed upon a suitable table or support which may be conveniently found in a hotel or other place; but the folding table is designed for use in places where such a support cannot be obtained, and it will enable the secretary to be quickly set up for use on a train, boat, or other conveyance or on the ground in open air, if desired.

The lid 3 is connected to the body portion, at the back thereof, by hinges 18, and the fas devices 10 for securing the lid to the front hold both parts in their closed position.

As illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings, the secretary may be constructed with ahinged front 19 and a hinged back 20, adapted to be arranged in a horizontal position to provide two desks, so that several persons may work simultaneously, and these hinged parts 19 and 20 are connected with the bottom of the body portion by hinges 21 and lar to those heretofore described, are connected at their upper ends with the body portion 26 and are adapted to fold Within suitable spaces or openings provided for that purpose. The lid 27 is connected with the body portion 26, at the back thereof, by hinges 28, and it is provided with front and rear fastening devices 29 and 30 for engaging the free edges of the hinged front and back and for securing such parts in their closed position. The portable secretary illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings may be of any size, and it may either be of the same dimensions as the single secretary or may be of greater size, and it is designed to be provided at both its front and back with various kinds of receptacles, pigeonholes, compartments, and the like for the reception of instruments, material, papers, and various other articles. WVhen the secretary is closed, the hinged front and back 19 and 20 close the compartments and receptacles which are not provided with individual doors or the like, and the said secretary is then compactly arranged and may be readily shipped and can be conveniently handled.

It will be seen that the portable secretary is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, that it is adapted for all kinds of travelers, and that it is capable of being readily set up for use and that it is also adapted to contain the means for supporting it and various other articles, such as a typewriter, letter-press, stationery, plies.

and other sup- Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction Within the scope of the appended claim may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of'this invention, such as varying the number and arrangement of the drawers, file-boxes, pigeonholes, and the other spaces and compartments.

What I claim is A portable secretary designed to be arranged upon a table and comprising a body provided at its front and rear with drawers, pigeonholes and analogous receptacles, the front and back 19 and 20 hinged at their lower edges to the bottom of the body and arranged to swing downward in the same horizontal plane as the bottom to form front and rear desks or supports, the hinged braces connected with the body and with the front and back 19 and 20 and supporting the said front and back 19 and 20 in a horizontal position, and adapted to fold, the lid hinged to the back of the body, and fastening devices arranged at the front and back of the lid and securing the same to the hinged front and back 19 and 20,Whereby theparts are held in their closed positions, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence .of two witnesses.

FRANK W. HALL.

lVitnesses:

G. C. WALLACE, W. T. BUTLER. 

